Hsbc Holdings PLC Acquires 51,699 Shares of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC)

Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC - Free Report) by 160.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 83,890 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 51,699 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.05% of Banc of California worth $1,303,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PL Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Banc of California by 1,446.0% in the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 46,754,426 shares of the bank's stock valued at $722,823,000 after acquiring an additional 43,730,207 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Banc of California by 274.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,393,076 shares of the bank's stock worth $83,377,000 after purchasing an additional 3,953,380 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Banc of California by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,556,614 shares of the bank's stock worth $39,525,000 after purchasing an additional 62,269 shares in the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Banc of California by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,281,410 shares of the bank's stock valued at $35,270,000 after buying an additional 221,125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Banc of California by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 1,478,559 shares of the bank's stock valued at $22,859,000 after buying an additional 31,970 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BANC shares. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Banc of California in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Banc of California from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Banc of California from $20.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Banc of California from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Banc of California from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $17.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James Andrew Barker bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $13.16 per share, for a total transaction of $131,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 169,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,232,988.80. This trade represents a 6.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.69% of the company's stock.

Banc of California Stock Performance

NYSE:BANC traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $13.70. The stock had a trading volume of 148,671 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,340,546. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.46 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Banc of California, Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.52 and a 1-year high of $18.08. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $13.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.12.

Banc of California (NYSE:BANC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $266.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $272.36 million. Banc of California had a net margin of 7.06% and a return on equity of 6.20%. Banc of California's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.19 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Banc of California, Inc. will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Banc of California Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Banc of California's payout ratio is 61.54%.

Banc of California Company Profile

Banc of California, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Banc of California that provides various banking products and services in California. The company offers deposit products, such as checking, savings, money market, demand, and time deposits; certificates of deposit; retirement accounts; and safe deposit boxes.